Sunday, May 23, 2010

Today was finishing day. Almost to hot to be outside so I decided to get my new item for the website done. Jean stitched this little piece by La D Da some time back. I just loved the colors and design, but could not decide how to finish it, so today I just started in on it.

I used quilt fabric on the back it is a green with black printed design. The green was the wrong shade so I removed some of the color using Rit Color remover it turned the green from Forest green to a yellow green, just what I was looking for.

Then I stuffed it with sawdust nice and firm, so what to do with the edge. I like cording, but it usually makes my things look to formal, not what I was looking for. I did have some black twill tape so I couched it down over the seam and I am quite pleased with the end result.

I did take a few picture of the Lillies that are in full bloom now. While our weather here is hot in the 90's I talked with my mom in Idaho and she said they had snow yesterday so go figure.

I hope that everyone has a good week, because next weekend is extra long!

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Can we ever have to many smalls? I think not, they are fun and quick to stitch, then made into useful little items, pyn pillows, needle books, stitch finders and scissor fobs. But best of all these little projects help you get through the large projects, giving one the sense of accomplishment that helps you get through the some times overwhelmingly large samplers that we set out to stitch.

They also make for lovely displays in your home.

While stitching come first I can't help but add pictures of the blooming flowers. These are love in a mist, the first year I had both blue and white. They reseed themselves, and for the next 3 years I only had white, but this year was a big surprise the blue was back!

Our cats are indoor cats, they get a treat to go out on the deck a little each day. This is the first year that Fuzzy has been allowed out as she is a flight risk. I think that she already has her eye on the birds in the yard.

A & E Samplers

Everyone must have a few!

Francis Eden, by Handwork Samplers

All for an Appil, by Scarlet Letter.

While not a A&E sampler it does have a wonderful garden and the best of vipers, in the prettiest of blues. He must have swiped the blue love in a mist all of those years.

A Parrot, a Leopard and a Lion, by Scarlett Letter.

I'm not sure how many smalls were stitched and finished while working on these three large samplers.

What helps you get through the large samplers? Do you only stitch one project at a time? I don't dare count how many I have started.

Enjoy your week, I will be adding new items to the website tomorrow so stop by and take a look.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Today I received a voicemail from my friend saying I can't believe you won! I had to replay it for I never win anything and had forgotten I had entered a free drawing. I heard more and remembered that I had entered a drawing on http://blackbird-designs.blogspot.com/ . I had to go check it out for myself to see if could really be true, and it was, what a wonderful surprise. So now I need to tell you why I visit the Blackbird ladies, because I sure you all don't know.... they have awesome stuff, quilting, cross stitching, books of both with both and fabric too. They have something for everyone and every taste.

This sampler I spied at the Nashville market one year in the Blackbird booth, I had to have it, I was ready to quite buying right there and then to go home and start stitching it. Do you come across pieces that move you that way? Well I think that I just about drove Jean crazy because I was so in love with this piece every time that we went by the room I would drag her in to look at this sampler she just had to see. It got to be quite the joke because we both were so tired that any little thing would set us laughing and I think by the end of the day we had seen this sampler a hundred times. We even renamed it the Birds, and I'm sure anyone that saw us that day was ready for us to go to the birds.

I did make it home and stitch it and then I made the little needle felted pincushion to go with the "Birds" it is mounted in a small shaker box. The frame I had another friend make for me. She used siding that she had salvaged from her house when she was remolding, the color was perfect. I still love this piece.

A close up of the needle felted pincushion.

Here is another Blackbird piece I know many of you have seen and stitched. I modified it a bit to give to a friend that was going on a trip, Where do you ask, why Paris of course.

I made it in to a little memento book where she could put her keepsakes from the trip. I added some French phrases (I hope they are correct, I looked them up on the Internet).

I added pockets and put her initials and date of her trip so she will never forget!

This was one of those projects that start out small and then you keep having ideas until it grows into this.

So now to change the subject completely. I am always looking at blogs and find that they put up these picture of what they cooked so I don't want to be different here is the shortbread that I made last night

There are a few that know this well. It is nice when you are known for one small thing.

Now I have had a few people ask about my house. I must explain I love all of those prim houses that they feature in the magazines, but my house cannot fall into that category. My taste runs to wild and I end up with a hodgepodge of things that I then just put all together. You just never know what you will see. There are antiques mixed in with some new items. Items that I have salvaged from work and from the woods. There are things that Danny collected from the fields when he was little hunting for treasures, we have them all.I will start with three photos today.

Here is a corner cupboard from a friend, I really don't think that she wanted to see it go, but I have promised to give it a good home and to fill it with treasures. This is found in the living room.

This is a built in cabinet in the kitchen. Many treasures here. Both Danny and I work in Agriculture industry so many of these items are work related. The large black box on the right is a wool standard grading box. It contains cards with samples of the different types and grades of wool so that it can be properly marked before it goes to market. The lower shelf contains many cameras of different types, so you just never know what you will find.

This is also found in the kitchen. I talked and talked about the dough bowl that I had seen at an antique store. I think to get me to be quite Danny got it for me for Christmas. He then had a welder make that rack so I could display it! Then last year I went to Notforgotten Farm Gathering in the fall and found the saw box on the top shelfThe small unfinished bowl sitting on the counter I had Danny make for me from a tree in our yard that we lost in the drought two years ago. Of course there is a sampler, and the picture of

"The Perfect Glass of Tea" a water color by Danny. If you look close you will see the yellow bull that my kids brought back from Spain.

So while I don't think the house will be in the magazines it is full of the things that make me smile and give me a place I look forward to come home to. I must say how lucky I feel that the water did not come flooding into my house this last weekend, and my heart goes out to all those that lost all of their treasures.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

We have had major weather issues this weekend here in Middle TN. Yesterday it rained 13 inches that last I heard, and it has started all over today. We also had tornado warning, and lots of flooding. We have 3 interstates coming into Nashville and at one point they were all shut down, due to flooding. I was supposed to go fishing with my husband, I opted out because you cannot stitch in the rain in a boat, you know when I'm not catching any fish. We are now stuck in separate places, due to flooding. I have been knitting and listening to the weather. The above picture is the back of our yard, most of the water is in neighbors yard.

This ditch runs down our side yard and it is usually empty.

The garden was in need of watering, but......

So taking a break from knitting, I thought that I would show a few samplers that are hanging on the wall. I took lots of pictures so I thought that I would just start with a few. These three are darning samplers. I love to stitch darning samplers, it is fun to see the pattern develop.

What are your favorite type of samplers?

Oh I did find a sampler that I can't wait to buy. Go to Needleprint and see the up coming Quaker. I know that there are tons of Quaker samplers out there and they are very similar with all the medallions, just in different placement and perhaps color, but this one steps over the boundary and is a must have! Go take a look http://needleprint.blogspot.com/2010/04/token-of-my-love-sarah-harris-1786.htmlv

Well back to knitting and weather watching. Hope everyone is have a great weekend.

Nicola's Scarlet Letter Year

About Me

Needleworker. I love Samplers and Primitives and enjoy a variety of needlework mediums; cross stitch, punchneedle, needlefelting, penny rugs and knitting. I love to take a stitched piece and turn it into a finished product that is both useful and a joy to look at. I manage to get into lots of trouble around antiques that go so well with all of my needlework.